Project Octopath Traveler (PC/XB1/NSW)

[Ratatapa]

3 hour demo was such a tease. I really wanted to keep going and unlock all the characters. This game seems like it will be one of my favorites this year, I'm glad the actual game release isn't too far off after this demo.

I played slowly got tressa and olderic

Have 1h left on my demo

[Ratatapa]

Will make this into 2 posts

Question, what happens at the end of the 3h

Do they force you to save or just kick you and you lost progress since last save?

[Ratatapa]

Now my opinion

Game is really really fun, my biggest worry is that It feels like the game will just be 8 story nothing else

aka I don't feel like the 8 stories will intertwined at some points.


2) Character interaction

I started with Tressa then did Olberic, the problem is that during the olberic story, Tressa was no where to be found exept for battles, like she played 0 part in the story

[Xno Kappa]

Yeah. The stories seem pretty disjointed so far, hard to see how they’ll have them intertwine in the future without it seeming awkward. If they end up intertwining at all.

I did Cyrus and picked up Primrose. There was zero interaction during Primrose’s story. It was essentially something like “she needs allies to exact her revenge, will you join her?” And that was literally it lol.

[Daydreamer]

This is only a demo for the prologue. I would assume much more is to come after and and this entire part is just really to see what is motivating everyone.

[Ratatapa]

finished the demo

Got Tressa, Olberic and Primerose

[Corrderio]

Finished yesterday. Started with Therion and got H'aanit and Ophilia before I hit my 3 hour limit. Do agree the disconnects during cutscenes when you recruit people is pretty meh, but other than that had a blast playing.

I really am debating if I want to keep my current save or not to try out the others.

[Ratatapa]

Finished yesterday. Started with Therion and got H'aanit and Ophilia before I hit my 3 hour limit. Do agree the disconnects during cutscenes when you recruit people is pretty meh, but other than that had a blast playing.

I really am debating if I want to keep my current save or not to try out the others.

Undone get why you would want to start over. It’s the same thing

[Corrderio]

Mostly to try the areas I didn't get to/see their backstories. I really don't see why they didn't just limit the demo to getting around each city to recruit everyone with a level cap instead of a time limit.

[Ratatapa]

Mostly to try the areas I didn't get to/see their backstories. I really don't see why they didn't just limit the demo to getting around each city to recruit everyone with a level cap instead of a time limit.

What I’m mean is that even if you don’t restart you’ll see those areas pretty fast

[Corrderio]

Ah my bad. Fair point I suppose.

[Kaslo]

For those people complaining about the heavy vignetting, this guy mentions some changes he made in settings to offset the issue.

[Ratatapa]

For those people complaining about the heavy vignetting, this guy mentions some changes he made in settings to offset the issue.

vignetting?

[Kaslo]

vignetting?

corner shadows

[Kaslo]

[Mabubeezareel]

One week to go! Methinks I'm going to be spending many an hour on this when it releases. Just absolutely love the mesh of 2d and 3d aesthetics - if only they could recreate FF6 in this engine. Guy can dream, can't he?

[6souls]

Kotaku reviewer saying the game is more SaGa than FF6.

[Destinye]

Kotaku reviewer saying the game is more SaGa than FF6.

Yeah, I'm guessing it's because a lot of people haven't played SaGa but the trailers/demos should immediately strike the Saga (especially III) chord lol. That actually makes me happy. (Separate storylines/merging storylines etc is more of a trait in their SaGa games honestly.)

[Tyrath]

Yeah based on that guys explanation of how the characters dont interact and basically you do all 8 characters chapters 1 at a time, I don't know if I want this game.

[EternityEnd]

You can do all the chapters in any order you desire, not necessarily all eight one at a time. And there are party banter interactions outside of their personal stories, just not within them, because there are 162 possible party combinations (including solo) that would be difficult to account for with non-stock cutscene dialogue.

Jason Schreier might be a good journalist, but he's a woeful game critic, and his article's titling is incredibly misleading clickbait based on misinformation. (The game's producer never claimed it was similar to FFVI beyond an evolution of its turn-based combat, and certainly not its "spiritual successor," although their visuals have a resemblance.)

Here's a preview I found more helpful:

https://twinfinite.net/2018/07/octop...veler-preview/

Combat:

Unlike most traditional JRPGs, I found the resource management aspect to be pretty lenient in this one. Perhaps because battles can go on for so long, Square Enix opted to keep the dungeons short and make it easier for players to replenish health and SP in between encounters. It might not be for everyone, but I found it much more satisfying to be challenged by the game’s combat itself rather than the impending stress of running out of healing items in a dungeon. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve suffered a handful of party wipes in regular battles – something which rarely ever happens to me in games like these.

It’s a good thing, too, especially considering how brutal Octopath Traveler’s bosses can be. While the chapter 1 bosses did require some level of strategy, they never made me feel like my party was in any real danger of getting wiped out. That all changes once you start tackling the chapter 2 content. I can’t reveal any details here, but I will say that almost every single boss encounter has been extremely close. There’s a level recommendation for each quest, and even with a couple of slightly over-leveled characters and two other allies that were at the recommended level, I was never overpowered. On the contrary, I felt like I only ever got through those battles by the skin of my teeth.

Side Quests / World-Building:

The other half comes from the story stuff. Aside from pursuing the eight different main story arcs, there are plenty of side quests to take on as well, and some of these are way more fleshed out than you might expect. One particular quest line spans across three different cities in Orsterra, where my party was tasked with finding out what happened to a particular NPC’s father. Other quests are more simple, and only require you to beat up an NPC or two, or guide a lost grandfather back to his hometown. Some even task you with venturing into optional caverns to take on mini bosses, which are also very tough. Octopath Traveler’s towns are plentiful, and many of them are sprawling, all littered with NPCs that have interesting backstories. The world has been an absolute joy to explore so far, and I haven’t even finished unlocking the full map.

Previews are generally glowing, and Schreier's was actually mostly positive once you get past the misinformed ranting.